


Never Think Before I Jump

by NoirAngel011



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Competition, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, No Rewind Powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-03-20 13:41:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18993769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoirAngel011/pseuds/NoirAngel011
Summary: Chloe had always been light of her feet.Max was a well known clutz.Now who in their right mind decided to give them a duet that can make or break the season.Ballet dancer AUThey're about fifteen/sixteen in this story.





	1. Bad Blood

**Author's Note:**

> Story title from Me! by Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie.  
> Chapter titles from...  
> 1- Bad Blood by Taylor Swift  
> 2- Training Wheels by Melanie Martinez  
> 3- Young Volcanoes by Fall Out Boy  
> 4- Photograph by Ed Sheeran  
> 5- Symphony by Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larson  
> 6- The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker

"Chloe, great job last weekend in your solo!" Kate said as she walked into the dance studio. She high-fived the blonde as Chloe was pulling on her pointe shoes. Chloe smiled at her and went back to trying on her shoes. 

"Kate's really nice." Rachel said next to Chloe where she was sitting while waiting for her best friend to be ready.

"Yeah. She's cool. A good dancer too." Chloe said, stretching her legs out in front of her.

Rachel stood up, balancing on her toes before standing flat on her feet. Chloe followed suit and followed Rachel into the dance room. They sat on the floor and stretched while waiting for everyone else to file in and waiting for Mrs. Ashley.

Bella and Maia walked in and sat down next to the girls, stretching out as well.

"Did you hear?" Bella asked Chloe and Rachel. Chloe shook her head.

"Hear what?" Rachel asked, folding her legs into the butterfly stretch.

"Mrs. Ashley is giving Maxine a duet this weekend," Maia said, rotating her ankles in small circles.

"Really!?" Chloe asked, shocked. "This weekend is state finals!"

"Yeah. she is the absolute worst dancer on this team!" Bella exclaimed. She thought that it was stupid to give a terrible dancer like Maxine a duet that could ruin their chance at making it to the country finalists.

"Well, If I get paired up with her, I'm calling it quits and Mrs. Ashely has officially lost her mind." Rachel said, throwing her hands up and shaking her head.

"You guys know that Max is actually really nice, right? You don't have to be so mean." Kate said as she sat down in their circle, defending her friend.

"I'm not saying that she's not nice, because she is. I'm saying that she could put our team in jeopardy if she went out and had a duet at finals." Maia said, finishing up her stretching.

Just then Max walked in the glass door, tapping Kate on the shoulder and getting her to move over to the other side of the room to stretch.

After about ten more minutes of girls pouring in and starting their stretching Mrs. Ashley walked into the room. She was a tall woman with mean green eyes and generally hated kids. Everyone in the studio mostly hated her too. She was carrying a clipboard and clapped her hands loudly twice and all the girls scrambled to sit in rows on the dance floor.

"I have two solos, a duet, and a group routine. Good job on making it to finals or whatever." Ashley said nonchalantly. It was obvious that she didn't care about finals.

"Nancy- solo. Rachel- solo." Rachel smiled and turned to Chloe. Chloe smiled at her and clapped silently.

Maxine and Chloe- duet." Chloe's jaw dropped. Max seemed surprised but happy.

Chloe turned to Rachel again. _"Why me?"_ She mouthed. Rachel frowned and shook her head apologetically.

"Rachel, stay here. The rest of you, out there." Ashley pointed out the door. Everyone got up and ran out, leaving just Rachel and Chloe. Chloe jumped up and ran across the room to talk to Mrs. Ashley.

"I don't want to hear your whining, Chloe." She said before Chloe could even get a word out.

"But, I can't dance with her. Can't you put me with someone else? Or give the dance to someone else? I know Bella and Maia would love to dance together." Chloe fought her teacher Rachel sat on the ground still, watching Chloe try to win over Mrs. Ashley.

"No Chloe. you're the best dancer on this team. We need you to win at finals." Chloe snorted. She knew that Mrs. Ashley didn't give a crap about winning at finals.

"And she's the worst dancer. I can't win with her!" Chloe complained.

"Figure it out, Chloe. Teach her to dance if it's such a problem." Ashley was getting annoyed with Chloe at this point.

"Isn't that what you're literally getting paid to do?" Chloe argued. For a second she thought that she had won.

"You need to learn how to work with others. Now, go." Ashley shooed Chloe off, pointing at the door. Chloe hung her head and walked away.

"I can work with others," Chloe mumbled as she pushed open the door and walked over to the bleachers where everyone was sitting.

She walked over to Nancy where she was talking to a girl named Charlotte.

"Good job on getting a solo, Nancy!" Chloe said, giving the brunette a side hug. Nancy smiled at her.

"Thanks, Chloe. That means a lot coming from you!" Chloe smiled at her as she walked back over to the bleachers where her stuff was.

Chloe was the top dog of the dance studio. So why did now she feel like she had hit rock bottom? She watched as Mrs. Ashley began to teach Rachel her dance.

Chloe noticed Max and Kate talking on the top step of the bleachers. She moved up closer to overhear their conversation.

"I can't believe I got a duet with Chloe!" Max sounded excited. The total opposite of how Chloe was feeling about the situation.

"Yeah! She's so cool." Kate smiled.

"Really pretty, too," Max said, looking down. Chloe moved to see her face better. Wait?! Was she blushing!?

Chloe was taken aback. Did Max actually have a crush on her? Chloe realized that the brunette must be a lesbian or something, judging by the way she looked at the other girls in the studio. Except for Christian girl Kate Marsh of course. Chloe herself had a crush on Rachel. But it was weird considering that Rachel was her best friend and completely straight as a ruler.

Chloe was lost in her own thoughts and missed the rest of the conversation between Kate and Max. Kate had moved down to the front row to talk to some girls and had left Max alone on the top row.

Chloe was staring into space and didn't notice Rachel running out of the studio room.

"Hey, Captain Price. Reality check." Rachel waved her hand in front of Chloe's face snapping her back to the present.

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry, Rach. Kinda got lost in thought there" Chloe turned to Rachel sitting next to her.

She hadn't heard Mrs. Ashley call Nancy back into the studio room and looked up to see Nancy learning the first steps of her dance.

"Who knows what the great Chloe Price thinks about." Rachel giggled. Chloe smiled sheepishly. Chloe kept looking over to Max to see what she was doing. Max was currently reading a book.

It had been like twenty minutes but felt like five of Chloe and Rachel talking. Soon Nancy came running out and Mrs. Ashley called.

"Maxine and Chloe!" Ashley called out the door before disappearing back into the room.

Chloe looked at Rachel. Max was getting up and heading to the studio room.

"Wish me luck." Chloe smiled at Rachel as she got up, following Max into the room.


	2. Training Wheels

Chloe knew that Max was bad. But she quickly realized that she was more than bad, she was completely, utterly terrible. She couldn’t even hold four turns! Chloe was standing there on pointe, waiting for Mrs. Ashley to tell her that this was a mistake and she would give her a new partner. But she never did.

“Chloe, arabesque.” Mrs. Ashley snapped, clearly fed up with Max. Chloe obeyed, lifting one leg up in the air behind her and balancing on her toes. Mrs. Ashley turned to Max.

“See?” she pointed to Chloe. “Do that.” Max tried to copy Chloe, who was holding her position casually, but ultimately failed as she fell to the side.

“Wow. You are so bad at this.” Mrs. Ashley shook her head and grumbled to herself.

“Plié then pirouette to the right.” Mrs. Ashley said, mostly to Chloe. Chloe did as she asked, landing gracefully. Max tried to copy her and somehow landed it for a few seconds before she fell. She clearly wasn’t very good on pointe.

“You know what girls, I’ll play the music and Chloe you dance, Maxine you watch her and try to figure out how to do this.” Mrs. Ashley said, walking into the room next to the studio room and turning the music.

Max sat on the ground in the corner, watching Chloe execute the dance perfectly. She had no idea how Chloe could be such a good dancer. Max felt a blush come to her face as she watched Chloe.

Rachel was sitting outside and looked up when she heard music playing. Were they that far already? She giggled when she saw that Chloe was the only one dancing and Max was just watching.

When Chloe finished, Ashley made Max try to copy the dance. She did it moderately well, but Chloe knew that they still had a lot of work to do.

Practice let out after they rehearsed the group routine. Chloe was changing in the dressing room out of her leotard and tights back into her school clothes. She walked out with her backpack on and skateboard in hand and found Max leaving the studio.

“Hey, Max. Come on.” She said, beckoning Max over to her. Max gave her a confused look and walked over to her.

“We’re going to my house, try to keep up.” Chloe pushed off on her skateboard and took off down the sidewalk. Max ran to keep up with her. Chloe’s house was almost a mile away and Max was breathing super heavily by the time they reached Chloe’s driveway. Chloe didn’t even break a sweat.

Chloe walked up to the front door and unlocked it, leading Max into the foyer. They walked u top the stairs and Chloe tossed her stuff down into the corner and Max did the same. Chloe went over to her closet and pulled out a pair of pointe shoes.

“Here, these will fit you better. You keep tripping because yours are too big.” Chloe said as she handed Max the shoes. Max took them gratefully and walked out into the hall and across the landing to the bathroom to change.

When she came back, Chloe was wearing a tank top and shorts and had her pointe shoes on, sitting on her bed. Max was wearing a short skirt and tights with a black leotard, the same thing she wore to dance.

“Thank,  Chloe. These fit a lot better.” Max stood up on pointe and was able to balance much longer than in her old shoes. Chloe smiled and stood up and walked out of the room, going downstairs and opening the garage door.

The back half of the garage had one side decorated as a dance studio. Chloe flipped on the lights.

“Okay, warm-up," Chloe said, going over to the barre. Max followed her example, grabbing onto the wooden bar.

“Pliē,” Chloe instructed as she bent her knees. Max copied movements exactly. “Croisē" Was her next instruction. Max followed her carefully. “Arabesque.” This continued for the duration of their warm-up, Max following Chloe’s instructions as they stretched out.

“Okay, good warm-up. Now pirouette.” Chloe stepped away from the barre and Max followed suit. Max steadied herself on pointe before spinning to the right on one foot. Chloe smiled.

“Wow. Just a change in shoes and you’re already better.” Chloe commented. Chloe did a perfect assemble and Max copied her. Chloe clapped as Max landed with a huge smile on her face.

“Great job. Now, let's dance the first half.” Chloe said as she went over to the bench up against the wall and turned on the music.

Max only stumbled a few times in her new shoes. When Chloe told her Amazon tap to stop playing halfway through the song Max almost fell to the floor her feet hurt so bad. Being on pointe for two minutes straight really hurt your feet.

“That was better. Remember to straighten your back. Let’s do it again. The whole thing.” Chloe turned back on her tap and Max rose back up onto pointe. She struggled to keep up with Chloe and still not fall over.

“Can you chaînè?” Chloe asked. Max nodded and took a few steps to the right. She moved in short, fast turns back to the left across the floor. Chloe smiled.

They ran through the dance at least four more times. Max was honestly thankful for Chloe’s help. She knew that without Chloe’s help she would go out on the stage at finals and fall flat on her face. She was so much more confident in her dancing even after just an hour of practicing with Chloe.

Max liked dancing with Chloe. It was exhilarating. Something about Chloe was so amazing and Max couldn’t help but try her absolute hardest to impress Chloe. She was really trying, unlike how she danced into class.

“Chloe! I’m home.” A man’s voice called through the house. Chloe called back.

“In the garage!” She screamed. The door opened and a bulky man poked his head in at surveys the room.

“Oh, Chloe. You brought a friend.” He said. He seemed happy that Chloe had brought someone home.

“Yeah. We’re doing a duet at finals. We were practicing.” Chloe was untying the ribbons on her pointe shoes. Max sat down and did the same, freeing her feet from the very beginning ice-like grip of the satin.

“Oh good. What’s your name?” he asked the brunette.

“Max. Nice to meet you.” She said, tossing the shoes to the side.

“Nice to meet you too, Max. If you want, I’m sure Chloe would love for you to stay for dinner.” He said. Chloe’s eyes widened for a moment. Max looked over to her and saw the light blush on her face. Max began to have an internal freakout.

“Does she know I have a crush on her?!” Max thought to herself. “How?! I was so careful not to tip her off! How did she find out?!” Max knew she was overreacting. There was no way that Chloe could know. Could she?

“Umm yeah. I’ll stay for dinner.” Max agreed, nervously. Chloe got up and grabbed her shoes.

“Come on Max. Let’s go get changed.” Chloe said, nodding her head toward the door.

“Okay.” Max picked up her shoes and pulled herself up off the floor. They walked back up the stairs to Chloe’s room. Max grabbed her clothes and walked across the hall to the bathroom. She changed quickly and rushed back to Chloe’s room. Her hand hesitated on the doorknob for a second before she pushed the door open.

“You can keep the shoes. I don’t want you falling all over yourself at finals.” Chloe said as soon as Max entered the room. She was laying on her bed with a book in her hands.

“Thanks,” Max said, shoving her clothes I, to her satchel bag.

“You know what?” Chloe asked sitting up and setting down her book.

“What?” Max responded, standing back up. I

“I think we might just win this thing.” Chloe smiled. Max smiled back.


	3. Young Volcanoes

Chloe walked into the dance studio tiredly. She had pulled an all-nighter again studying for her physics final and she had been a sloth all day. She had literally no energy to dance today. She tossed down her stuff on the bleachers and went to go change.  
  
When she came back outside, more people had arrived. Kate, Brooke, Dani, Bella, and Olivia were a few faces she picked out on her way back to her stuff. Chloe sat down and started pulling on her shoes, tying the ribbons around her feet with agile fingers.   
  
Chloe was so out of it she didn’t notice Max walk up behind her. She was completely zoned until Max was sitting next to her and putting on her pointe shoes.  
  
“Thanks for the help yesterday, Chloe.” The brunette said, stretching out her legs. Chloe started and fell back, almost hitting her head on the seat behind her if it wasn’t for Max’s quick reflexes and the smaller girl grabbing her arms and helping Chloe pull herself back up.  
  
“Sorry, I stayed up really late last night. Yeah, you’re welcome. Dinner was nice too.” Chloe gave Max a smile as she went back to her shoes. She didn’t notice the rosy blush across Max’s freckled face. Charlotte and Nancy walked past and into the bathroom across from the main entrance. Max watched everyone go by, she liked watching people. You could learn a lot about a person just by watching them. Max liked to see people’s motives, and a good way to learn that was to people watch.. She couldn’t seem to pick up on Chloe’s intentions though.  
  
Max looked over at Chloe after finishing putting on her shoes. Chloe was now studying through her school notes. She had another final the next day and she would prefer to get some sleep that night. Just then, Rachel came bursting through the door and running over to Chloe and Max.  
  
“Sorry I’m late, I had to walk a kindergartener home!” Rachel was energetic beyond a point Chloe wanted to deal with today. Chloe looked up and glared at Rachel giving her a ‘not in the mood’ look. Rachel took the hint and dialed back sitting on the other side of Chloe. She jumped up a second later realizing that she needed to go change and ran off.  
  
“She seems hyped,” Max commented, watching the blonde run off.  
  
“It's probably all the monster she chugs. Or the weed she’s constantly smoking.” Chloe said nonchalantly, continuing going through her notes. Max looked at her in disbelief.  
  
“Wait, weed? That’s illegal in Oregon.” She whispered, leaning in closer to Chloe.  
  
“Yeah, I don’t get the appeal. But if you ask me, and don’t tell anyone I told you this, but I think she hooking up with her drug dealer. And he’s like forty-something.” Chloe gave Max a knowing look. Max was shocked. Maybe Rachel wasn’t as much of a good girl's everyone thought.  
  
Just then The girls jumped apart when they heard someone clear their throat. Kate was standing in front of them, holding a Starbucks Refresher.  
  
“Uhh… You seemed out of it today Chloe. I wanted to give you this. I don’t drink the cherry limeade ones.” She said, handing Chloe the acai refresher. Chloe took it from the younger girl.  
  
“Thanks, Kate. I need anything today if I don’t want to get yelled at.” She joked. They all knew how much Mrs. Ashley hated her job, but also how means he could be if you missed a single step. She just loved to make every dancer there’s lives miserable and Chloe would like to not be screamed at all practice long. Kate nodded and smiled before going over to Charlotte and Nancy to talk with them.  
  
Rachel had just come walking over. It was five minutes until practice started and Chloe was now chugging this acai refresher in the hopes of getting some sort of energy. Rachel sat down next to Chloe and began throwing her shoes on in such a hurry that Max noticed she missed the double knot that they were supposed to wear, instead only doing a single knot.  
  
Rachel looked over at Max with a look of disgust then leaned over to whisper in Chloe’s ear. Max still heard her.  
  
“Why is she here. Don’t tell me you’ve fallen down to her level. I thought that we didn’t associate with her.” She looked like she was trying to be quiet but was failing miserably. Chloe shook her head.  
  
“Don’t be mean Rachel. Nobody likes to hang out with girls like you who talk behind everybody's back. You just get mad because you’re jealous that I can make new friends. Max is really nice and fun to hang out with. So stop being rude or I don’t have to be friends with you.” Chloe fired back. Rachel was fiery but Chloe could throw flames when people talked down her friends. Max’s eyes lit up when she heard Chloe liked hanging out with her.  
  
Brooke stood up at the top of the bleachers. “Yes, Chloe! Give her a taste of her own medicine!” through the bleachers a chorus of “Yeah”s and “Chloe’s right” mad Max start to smile. Rachel looked horrified. She had never expected her teasing to backfire like this. Max was so happy. Maybe, just maybe she had a shot with Chloe now. She pushed those thoughts down. Chloe was straight, she wouldn’t like Max like that.  
  
Chloe put her arm around Max and pulled her into a side hug.  
  
“And I am happy to say that Max is my new best friend.” Chloe had a sparkle in her eyes. She had realized how much she liked Max too. Maybe she was wrong about Max having a crush on her, but she was damn sure going to try to make something happen between them.  
  
Max smiled and hugged Chloe back. Rachel looked mortified and ran off, out the studio doors. Max and Chloe looked at each other and smiled. Chloe put her hand up and Max Accepted her high five.  
  
“You’re a way better friend than she ever was,” Chloe said, pulling away from their hug. Mrs. Ashley walked into the main room just then.  
  
“Time for practice!” She called and everyone sprang up, rushing into the dance room. Max and Chloe running hand in hand.


End file.
